Turning Season Within
by BeholdMyNight
Summary: Set after the 2nd season episode "P3 H2O." It follows the sisters' inner turmoil after facing the demon that killed their mother. The turmoil sends Prue on a whirlwind leaving Phoebe heartbroken. Can their relationship survive? Warning: Incest.


Turning Season Within

Turning Season Within

After defeating the water demon, the sisters drove back home in complete silence. They hadn't spoken a word to each other since Sam died. Piper had taken the keys from Prue so she could drive, knowing Prue was too emotional to handle driving and that the same went for Phoebe. Despite the fact that Piper wasn't much better than her sisters in the emotional department right now, she always managed to somehow be able to function when her sisters couldn't. After years of being with them, she'd learned long ago one of them always had to be able to shut their emotions off and take charge when needed.

Prue sat in the front passenger seat gazing out the window. Her gaze was distant as her thoughts were consumed by memories of the past and by Sam. History had almost repeated itself. The demon had almost claimed Prue like it had claimed her mother. If it hadn't been for Sam, Prue would be dead right now. When it had mattered most, she had been distracted and dropped the cables. She wondered if that was how her mother had felt right before she died.

Despite knowing they had defeated the demon and avenged their mother's death, Prue couldn't get past the fact that she had almost died like her mother. For the past 20 years she had feared becoming her mother and always danced around the topic. She especially hated it when people said she was like her mother and only made her work harder to not be like her mother. Yet this experience confronted her with the very real similarities between her and Patty and it scared her more than anything. Prue wondered if she would share Patty's fate even though she escaped it today.

Phoebe was in the backseat, her gaze fixed on her feet. All she could think about was the vision of her mother's death. A tear started rolling down her cheek as she replayed the image in her mind. Patty must have been so afraid, and it must have been an ugly way to die. Phoebe couldn't help but hate how she had to live with this. Even though she knew it was the only way to find out how to defeat the demon, she did resent Prue for making her see that. Part of her wanted to make Piper and Prue see it so that they would understand, but the better part of her knew it was hard enough for them just hearing how she had died.

Phoebe leaned down and pressed her forehead against her knees and closed her eyes. Again the image of Patty being drowned played in her mind's eye. She sniffed softly and tried to will the images to go away. She wondered if Leo would be able to take the images away from her.

When they got home, Prue immediately went up to her room and closed the door. As an after thought, she locked it, wanting to be alone. She walked over to her bed and lay down on her side. She grabbed a pillow and held it tightly against her chest. She buried her face in it and cried. Prue rarely let herself cry, especially in front of others, but she couldn't help it right now. For the first time since Andy died, she let herself cry, and it wasn't just a few tears, she let herself really cry.

As she cried, she realized she really wanted to be held but she couldn't find the energy to get up and find Phoebe. So instead Prue just stayed there and cried, hoping and praying that she wouldn't end up like her mother.

After Prue had isolated herself, Phoebe sat down on the couch and just stared at the floor. Piper watched her for a moment before she went and sat beside her. She wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her close.

"You aren't alone, Phoebs," Piper said comfortingly.

"I know," Phoebe replied softly. She lifted her head and looked at Piper. "We avenged mom's death, but why does it feel like it didn't even matter?"

"I think we just need some time. This confronted us with our greatest pain and it reopened old wounds. We just need to go through these emotions, but when they stop, you'll see that everything will be better."

"I hope so." Phoebe sighed softly. "Do you think Leo can do anything about erasing a memory?"

"I don't know, but why do you ask?"

"It's just…I don't know if I can handle the image of mom's death. It's the only thing I see and think about and I just can't take it any more." Phoebe's voice cracked and tears began to well up in her eyes as she spoke. Piper wrapped her other arm around her and pulled her closer and stroked her hair gently.

"I wish I could help you, but I know that you're strong Phoebe. Prue wouldn't have asked you to do that if she didn't think you could handle it."

Phoebe closed her eyes tightly and once again saw Patty's death. "But Piper, I can't handle it. She was my mother, too, and I can't just say it was one of the innocents we saved because she's not. She was our mother and she died and I keep seeing it over and over and over." She opened her eyes and tears started rolling down her cheeks as she started crying. She wrapped her arms around Piper, buried her face in her shoulder, and cried.

Piper held Phoebe close and rubbed her back and rocked her gently. She really wished she could do something to help ease Phoebe's mind, but what could she do? Nothing she could do or say would be able to comfort Phoebe. If she didn't know Prue was having her own crisis, she'd send Phoebe to her for comfort. She had a feeling that Prue was able to do more comforting than she could, which made Piper sad since part of her job as the middle sister was to comfort.

After Phoebe had calmed down enough that Piper didn't fear leaving her alone, Piper went to make dinner for the three of them. She hadn't planned to make dinner at all and when she walked into the kitchen she didn't have anything in mind, but she instinctively reached for ingredients and started making comfort food. It was something Grams had always made for them if they had had a bad day at school or were sad. It was a recipe Piper knew by heart and she was nearly done making it when Prue walked in.

"Something smells good in here," Prue said, her voice raspy from having been crying. When Piper looked over at her, Prue's face was still red from crying and she could see some tears still in her eyes. But as always, Prue was trying to hold them back when in front of others.

"It's one of Grams' recipes." Piper said with a soft smile. She checked the food before she wiped her hands on a towel and walked over to Prue and gave her a hug. "I thought it would help us all feel a little better."

Prue hugged Piper back and took a deep breath. "I feel better just smelling it."

"Good. Now get Phoebe and sit down, it's almost ready." Piper said as she pulled away from Prue and went back to making dinner. As Prue went to get Phoebe, Piper took a deep breath and tasted the food. Her eyes went wide with surprise and she looked at it. "Whoa there, I think that's better than Grams'." In truth, it was better than Grams due to the fact Piper had been pouring her repressed emotions into the food as she cooked it, thus making it more emotional and richer than Grams ever made it.

Piper was putting the food on plates as Prue and Phoebe came in and sat at the table. She carried the three plates over to the table and set them down, then went and grabbed drinks for them before finally sitting down at her place.

Phoebe took a bite of the food and went wide-eyed. "Holy, this is better than Grams'!" She exclaimed. Prue was right with her to confirm that statement. Piper smiled a bit proudly and yet shyly.

"Aww thanks you guys." She started eating and looked at Phoebe and Prue. She could tell both of them still had a lot of pent up emotions. She sincerely hoped that nothing bad would come of that. Knowing Prue and Phoebe, when one of them was restraining their emotions it led to something very bad. Piper always feared their fights, especially when both of them were upset. So being the good middle sister, she'd try to alleviate their stress and lessen the chance of them having a huge fight. And remembering the last time they had a huge fight resulting in Phoebe leaving, she'd rather not risk the chance of one or both of them leaving. "I was thinking, maybe we could go somewhere and do something fun tomorrow like shop."

"Shop? Oh I like the sound of that!" Phoebe said. If there was one thing Piper could always count on was that the mere mention of shopping always perked Phoebe up.

"But remember Phoebe, you don't have money, and you aren't getting a single dime out of me." Prue said. Piper instantly wanted to smack Prue upside the head with a frying pan.

"Who said I'd be using your money?" Phoebe asked as she eyed Prue a bit warily.

"History told me. You always use my money when you don't have any."

"Ok let's not go there. Shopping is out of the question. How about we go somewhere fun like a carnival or something?" Piper suggested as she tried her best to avoid World War III.

"I don't know, I like shopping better." Phoebe said and ate another bite of food.

"Well I have to work, so I won't be going. And don't even think about stealing my credit card." Prue said and pointed at Phoebe.

"Look Prue, I'm not going to take your credit card so stop accusing me!" Phoebe said defensively.

"Hey hey people people, get off that subject all ready! We've moved on." Piper said as she tried using more forceful tactics to get them on to a different subject.

"I'll move on if Prue will." Phoebe said and stuffed a bite of food in her mouth.

Prue grumbled and set her fork down a bit forcefully. "Don't even start with that, Phoebe!"

"Start with what? You were the one who made the first remark as I remember." Phoebe countered.

"Oh boy, here we go," Piper muttered under her breath. "Hey-"

"Only because I know you would be using my money if we went shopping."

"For the last time Prue, I wasn't going to use your money! Now get off my case and leave me alone!"

"Um guys-" Piper tried to interject herself between them, but got cut off by Prue.

"You know what, I think I'll do that. I'll leave you alone and you'd better leave me alone, Phoebe." Prue stood up abruptly and started storming out of the kitchen.

"Wait a minute, you want me to leave you alone just because I fight you on whether or not I'd use your money if we go shopping?" Phoebe stood up and Prue turned on her heel and glared at Phoebe.

"And because you wouldn't let it go. Now leave me alone." Prue turned and stormed out of the kitchen and up to her room. She decided to go to Buckland's and work for a while. That and she had a bone to pick with Jack about the deal he'd made with her client earlier. Prue changed her clothes and put on her game face. She grabbed her shoulder bag and headed out to her car and drove off to Buckland's.

After Prue stormed out of the kitchen, Phoebe huffed and stormed off. Piper sighed and knew she'd have to do damage control. She quickly put the dishes in the sink and decided to deal with them later. She wondered whom she should go after first, but as she came out of the kitchen and caught a glimpse of Prue leaving, her decision was made for her. She went to look for Phoebe. She found her in the sunroom still seething over Prue.

"I can't believe Prue sometimes." Phoebe grumbled.

"She shouldn't have made that comment, but you know her. She'll be fine after letting off some steam." Phoebe gave Piper a disbelieving look.

"Oh come on Piper, you know Prue as well as I do. It'll take more than that for her to get over it. Not to mention the last time we really fought I ended up on the other side of the country."

Piper held her tongue, then walked over to Phoebe and sat down beside her. "It'll be ok, Phoebe. We both know Prue and she will get over it." She wrapped her arm around Phoebe's shoulders and gave her a little squeeze. "In the mean time, why not do something to get your mind off of it?"

Phoebe sighed softly and looked at the love letters their mother had written to Sam. "We should do something with those letters. Maybe I'll add them to the photo album as a journal of sorts."

"That's a good idea, Phoebe." Piper said with a smile. Phoebe went to grab the photo album and started working on adding the letters into it. Soon after, Leo orbed in to get Piper's attention. After they had a talk ending in saying goodbye, Dan came to the back door with some cereal for Piper.

A little while later when Dan had left, Piper went and sat in the living room. She couldn't help but start to let her emotions out. Tears rolled down her cheeks and she started wondering why she had to deal with digging up memories of her mother's death and saying goodbye to Leo, the man she loved, in the same day. Before she knew it, she was crying openly.

Phoebe was coming downstairs when she heard Piper's crying. A worried look came over her face and she rushed to her sister's side. "What's wrong, sweetie?" She asked as she sat beside Piper and pulled her into a tight hug. Piper wrapped her arms around Phoebe and clung to her as she cried.

Piper wasn't sure that she could tell Phoebe about Leo. At least she couldn't say it now, not so soon after the fact. So for the meantime, she wouldn't say anything, only let Phoebe comfort her. She buried her face in Phoebe's shoulder and wondered what she'd do without Leo. It truly felt like her heart had been ripped out of her chest.

After Piper calmed down a little bit, Phoebe went and made her some tea and brought it back for her. "Here you go Piper," she said as she handed her the cup and sat back down beside her.

"Thanks, Phoebe," Piper replied and cleared her throat. She sipped her tea and sniffed softly. Phoebe reached out and gently tucked some hair behind Piper's ear.

"If you want to talk, I'll listen." Phoebe said gently.

"I know. I'm just not ready to talk yet. But thank you," Piper replied and took another sip of her tea. Her mind was racing with a million questions. She couldn't get her mind to stop; it kept rushing and searching for answers that couldn't be given.

Phoebe sat with Piper, giving her comfort when she needed it and making idle chat every so often. As she sat there, she also kept an eye out for Prue coming back, but she never did. Eventually, Piper went up to bed, but Phoebe stayed downstairs waiting for Prue. The hours ticked away, but still Prue didn't show. Phoebe started to worry and debated calling the police when Prue finally walked in at nearly three in the morning. Phoebe shot up from the couch and went into the entryway.

"Prue where have you been, I've been so worried!"

Prue looked up at Phoebe and had this look of ecstasy on her face and her hair was messy as though she'd just had sex. "Why are you so worried? I can take care of myself." She started heading up to her room, clearly still basking in the afterglow of sex.

"Prue, where have you been?" Phoebe asked. Prue stopped and looked at Phoebe.

"I was letting off some steam. And just so you know, it was good." Prue said, rubbing it in Phoebe's face that she'd slept with someone else. Phoebe's eyes went wide and her breath caught in her throat.

"No…no you didn't…you couldn't…" Phoebe whispered.

"I could and I did. Good night." Prue turned and headed up to her room and didn't look back at Phoebe.

Phoebe felt her heart sink and shatter at Prue's words and tears started streaming down her face. Everything just stopped and she lost all sense of the world. Without realizing what she was doing, she turned and walked out of the house. She just started walking with no destination in mind. Soon after she left the manor, it started to rain. Phoebe continued walking, not caring that she was getting soaked to the bone. She eventually found herself outside of P3 and took shelter in the doorway. She pulled her knees up against her chest, buried her face in her arms and sobbed.

Piper woke up early in the morning and went to shower before Prue put a monopoly on the bathroom. She glanced at Phoebe's door as she headed to the bathroom, but stopped in her tracks. Phoebe's door was open, which was unusual. Piper walked over to the doorway and was about to call Phoebe's name when she saw the bed was made as though it hadn't been slept in. Worry set in and she went downstairs.

"Phoebe? Are you here?" Piper ran around checking the living room and kitchen, but there was no sign of Phoebe. "Phoebe?!" Her voice grew higher in pitch. "Phoebe come on, you're scaring me!" As Piper came out of the dining room, she nearly ran Prue over.

"Why are you yelling, Piper? It's early, could you please keep it down?" Prue asked, dazed and half asleep.

"Phoebe's missing," Piper said breathlessly.

"She's not missing, she's probably still in bed at this hour."

"She's not in her room. Her door's open and her bed hasn't been slept in. Oh god where did she go?"

"Relax Piper, maybe she just went on a job interview or something. She was fine last night."

"Wait you saw her last night?"

"Yeah when I came in last night…this morning."

Piper gave Prue a pointed look. "Prue, what did you say to her?"

"I didn't say anything, Piper, give me a break."

"I will not give you a break. What did you say?"

"I was basking in the afterglow of sex and told her I had gone to let off some steam and that it was good."

"You did what?" Piper narrowed her eyes. "Prue how could you do that?"

"Do what, Piper? It was just a one time thing."

"Yeah maybe, but the point is that it happened and Phoebe loves you. And now she's missing and you're going to help find her."

"I'm telling you she's fine, Piper, she'll come home so just lay off her."

"No you stop it. I don't know what makes you think you can do that to her and just pretend like it meant nothing." Piper grabbed Prue's arm and started pulling her up the stairs to the attic. "We're going to scry for her, then you're going to apologize and make it up to her, got it?" Prue tried to protest, but Piper wasn't having any of it.

It had continued to rain throughout the night and into the morning. Phoebe got tired of sitting outside of P3, so she got up and started walking, once again not having a destination in mind. She eventually came to a park and she sat down on a bench under a tree. She was soaked to the bone, but she didn't care. She hung her head and wondered why this was happening.

After a little while, a man noticed Phoebe sitting there. As he looked at her, he recognized her and walked over to her.

"I don't mean to intrude, but you live on Prescott Street, don't you?" Phoebe shrugged a shoulder very slightly.

"I guess," she replied in a raspy voice that proved she'd been crying and been out in the rain for several hours. Phoebe finally lifted her head to look at the man standing there. Her eyes went a bit wide as she realized who was standing there.

"I just wanted to introduce myself. I've seen you several times while I've been walking my dog. My name is Nathaniel Pratt." He smiled.

"I-I'm Phoebe," she said as she tried to shake off her shock and innate fear of him. After all, a couple weeks earlier she'd taken a trip to her future where he burned her at the stake.

"It's nice to meet you, Phoebe." Nathaniel took his coat off and set it around Phoebe's shoulders. "You're going to catch cold if you're not careful." He sat down on the bench next to Phoebe and talked with her.

Not long after, Piper and Prue arrived at the park after having located Phoebe by scrying for her. They parked and got out of Piper's car.

"She should be around here somewhere." Piper said as she looked around.

"Explain to me again why we're going after Phoebe?" Prue asked with an annoyed tone. Piper rolled her eyes.

"Just look for Phoebe." They both walked around, then after a minute or two, Piper stopped in her tracks and grabbed Prue's arm. "Please tell me that guy talking to Phoebe isn't who I think he is." Prue followed Piper's gaze and saw Nathaniel sitting next to Phoebe and talking to her.

"Oh that's not good. Uh freeze him, I'll grab Phoebe and we'll get out of here."

"Bad idea, you know what happens when magic is used on him." Piper replied as images of Phoebe burning at the stake flashed through her mind. "We approach him like normal people and hope Phoebe doesn't run away." They both walked over to where Phoebe and Nathaniel were.

Phoebe looked up and saw Piper and Prue coming toward her. As her gaze fell on Prue, tears welled up in her eyes. "I'm sorry, but I have to go." She took Nathaniel's coat off and handed it back to him, then turned and walked off quickly in the opposite direction of Prue and Piper.

"Phoebe! Phoebe wait!" Piper called out and started running after her with Prue close behind her. Phoebe started running, not wanting to even look at Prue right now.

Prue glanced back at Nathaniel as she ran after Phoebe, wondering why he'd approached Phoebe. She turned her attention back to Phoebe. "Phoebe stop!"

"No, leave me alone!" Phoebe called back as tears rolled down her cheeks again.

"Dammit Phoebe, just stop and let us talk to you!" Piper called out. For the first time she wished that her power were able to freeze good witches so she could freeze Phoebe.

Blinded by her tears, Phoebe couldn't see where she was running. She was on a collision course with a car as she ran towards the street.

"Phoebe stop!" Piper called out. Then as Phoebe neared the road, she saw the car coming that would undoubtedly hit her. "Oh oh Prue!!"

"Oh God," Prue saw the car and used her power to pull Phoebe backwards. Phoebe landed on her back with a grunt and for a moment she wasn't sure what happened until Piper and Prue were standing over her.

"Phoebe, are you all right?" Piper asked as she tried to catch her breath. Phoebe sat up and tried to scramble away from Prue.

"Leave me alone," Phoebe sniffed.

"Phoebe please, just calm down." Prue said. For the first time since yesterday her head was clearing and she was realizing what she had done. "I know that there's nothing I can do or say to erase or justify what happened last night, but I want to tell you how incredibly sorry I am."

Phoebe sniffed and looked up at Prue, her eyes full of pain and sadness that she'd never felt before. "Why did you do it? I love you, Prue. Why would you do this?" Phoebe asked through sobs.

"I don't have an answer to that. All I can say is that I wasn't thinking clearly, or even at all. I wasn't myself and I whole-heartedly hate myself for having done it. I never wanted to hurt you." Prue knelt down beside Phoebe and looked at her with sad, regretful eyes. "I never wanted to do something like this to you. I only wanted to make you happy, not make you cry. I may not ever be able to make it up to you, but I'm going to try my damned hardest to make it up to you. I love you, Phoebe." Phoebe sniffed and looked Prue in the eye. She could tell Prue was telling the truth.

"Please, make it stop hurting…" Phoebe said in a soft voice. Prue reached out and pulled Phoebe into her arms. She held her tightly and stroked her hair.

"I'll make it stop hurting, I promise." Prue whispered in her ear. Phoebe wrapped her arms around Prue and clung to her tightly.

"Ok I don't mean to break up the moment, but we should really get you home and out of those soaked clothes, Phoebe. I'll be surprised if you don't catch your death." Piper said.

"Piper's right, we should get you home. Come on," Prue said and helped Phoebe to her feet. They headed back to their car, but not without Nathaniel watching them closely. He had seen Prue use her powers to pull Phoebe away from the car, though he wasn't sure exactly what happened, only that he knew it wasn't normal. He would have to keep a close eye on them.

When they got home, Prue ushered Phoebe into the bathroom and ran a hot shower for her while Phoebe peeled off her soaked clothes. Phoebe sneezed and sniffed, then grumbled a bit. Prue looked at her with a sympathetic look.

"Come on, the water's ready." Prue said and held her hand out to Phoebe. Phoebe sniffed again, took Prue's hand and stepped into the shower. She yelped at feeling how hot the water was.

"Hot!!" Phoebe exclaimed and tried to keep out of the spray of the water.

"I know it's hot, but it's good for you. You're soaked to the bone and freezing."

"That doesn't mean that my body won't protest to it."

"Here, how about I get in with you to help?" Prue asked. Phoebe nodded a bit and sneezed again. Prue quickly slid out of her clothes and stepped into the shower with Phoebe, earning herself a yelp as the water hit her. "Ah that is hot!" She reached over and turned the hot water down a bit.

Phoebe smiled softly at her. "I told you it was hot."

Prue gave her a mock angry face, which in response Phoebe stuck her tongue out. Prue giggled softly. "All right, it's better now, so come here." Prue grabbed Phoebe's hips and switched places with her so Phoebe was standing under the running water. Prue smoothed Phoebe's hair back from her face. "Does that feel better?"

"Yes, thank you," Phoebe responded. She was still shivering but she was warming up.

"If you want, I'll wash your hair and stuff for you." Prue said, gently running her fingers along Phoebe's wet hair soothingly. Phoebe sneezed and nodded, really not wanting to do anything. She could all ready feel a cold coming on.

Prue grabbed the shampoo and started washing Phoebe's hair. She noticed Phoebe was still shivering despite the water being hot. After she finished washing Phoebe's hair and rinsed all the soap from it, she grabbed the soap and washed Phoebe's body and rinsed it. When she was done, Phoebe turned and looked at her, then wrapped her arms around Prue tightly and clung to her.

"Please, never do this to me again. I couldn't take anything like this happening again." Phoebe pleaded, her voice trembling slightly as she tried to hold back tears. Prue wrapped her arms tightly around Phoebe, who was still shivering.

"I won't, I'm so sorry, Phoebe. After we have some breakfast, I think we should talk. There have been things on my mind since yesterday and I think you have too, so we should talk about them, ok?" Prue stroked Phoebe's hair and back gently. Phoebe nodded and rested her head on Prue's shoulder and closed her eyes.

Just then, Piper walked in to check on Phoebe. "Whoa!" She exclaimed upon seeing Prue was in the shower with Phoebe. Piper quickly turned her back. "I am so sorry. I came to check on Phoebe, but didn't expect you to be in there with her, Prue. Uh so breakfast is ready and I'm sorry if I interrupted anything."

"It's all right, Piper," Phoebe said with a sniff, her head still on Prue's shoulder. "Could you get me some warm, dry pajamas please?"

"Of course. I will be right back and I will not look." Piper said and headed out of the bathroom keeping her eyes averted from the shower. Phoebe took a deep breath and found comfort being in Prue's arms like this.

"We should shower together more often," Phoebe said. Prue smiled.

"I agree. I like the company." Prue held Phoebe tighter, loving the way her body felt against hers. A minute later, Piper came back with pajamas for Phoebe.

"I got your pajamas Phoebe. I'll be downstairs." Piper set the clothes on the counter by the sink then left. Prue and Phoebe remained in each other's embrace for another minute or so before Prue turned the water off.

"All right, time to get you dried off and get some breakfast." Prue opened the shower door and grabbed a towel, then started toweling Phoebe dry. After Phoebe was dry, Prue dried herself off and grabbed her clothes. "Pajamas sound like a good idea, I'm going to grab mine. I'll be right back." But before Prue could do anything, Phoebe grabbed her head and kissed so deeply and passionately than ever before. It was unlike any other kiss Prue had ever received in her life and it took her breath away completely. Prue returned the kiss whole-heartedly. After a minute, Phoebe broke the kiss and gazed at Prue.

"I love you, Prue." She said. Prue looked at her, breath still stolen. She licked her lips and smiled.

"I love you too, Phoebe." She leaned in and kissed Phoebe again, then went off to put her pajamas on. Phoebe smiled softly and pulled her pajamas on. Since she was still shivering, she went and grabbed a sweatshirt from her room and pulled it on, then she dried her hair with the hair dryer so she wouldn't get any sicker than she all ready felt. She came out of the bathroom and sneezed twice, then was met by Prue and a box of Kleenex.

"Thank you," Phoebe said, grabbed a Kleenex and blew her nose.

"You're welcome, I thought you'd need them. Come on, let's go have some breakfast." Prue slid her arm around Phoebe's shoulders and walked downstairs with her.

Piper was just finishing setting the table when Prue and Phoebe got down there. "Great timing!"

The three sat down and started eating breakfast. The entire time, Phoebe could feel the cold hands of death wrapping around her. Her amount of sneezing increased and her head started to fog up a bit, telling her a cold was definitely settling itself into her system.

"Are you ok, Phoebs? You look horrible." Piper asked after watching Phoebe's complexion get paler.

"No, I feel horrible." She said. Her voice was starting to show signs of congestion building up.

"Aww poor Phoebe. After breakfast, I'll put you to bed." Prue said with a little smirk. Phoebe smirked back.

"I look forward to that."

"Just keep an eye on yourself, Phoebs. Being outside in the rain all night wasn't good." Piper said, her worry for her sister's health coming out.

"Thanks Piper, I know. I hope it won't get too bad." Phoebe took another bite of food. Phoebe could feel her temperature rising, and groaned softly. "Ok I don't think I can finish breakfast. I think I need to lay down." Phoebe set her fork down and started to get up, but the room spun and she leaned on the table and pinched her eyes shut.

"Phoebe!" Prue exclaimed and shot out of her chair and went to Phoebe's side. "Here come on, let me help you." Prue wrapped an arm around Phoebe's lower back and helped her upstairs to her room.

Phoebe slid into bed and lay on her side. Prue climbed in, arranged the pillows against the headboard, and leaned back against them. Once Prue was settled, Phoebe slid closer and rested her head on Prue's chest and wrapped her arms around Prue's middle. Prue gently ran her fingers through Phoebe's hair and kissed her forehead.

"You were wanting to talk?" Phoebe asked after a minute.

"Are you sure you're up for it? You don't look so hot."

"I'm sure. We have things we need to talk about." Phoebe said and sniffed.

"Ok, but just let me know if you need to rest, and we'll stop." Prue said and Phoebe nodded in response. Prue stroked Phoebe's hair and took a deep breath. "I know things have been crazy for both of us for the past couple days after having to face the demon that killed mom. I really don't know where my head has been. Ever since I was standing on the end of the dock ready to zap the demon, my head has been fuzzy. I was paralyzed with fear, and after finding out about mom and her whitelighter, I just couldn't handle it." She paused for another deep breath. "I felt suffocated by my emotions and my memories. I know I was supposed to be the one to avenge mom's death and to protect both you and Piper, but I failed." Prue's voice cracked as tears welled up in her eyes and she started crying. Phoebe tightened her arms around Prue and looked up at her.

"You didn't fail, honey. You have protected me and Piper and the three of us together avenged mom's death. It didn't bring her back to life, but I know she's at peace now knowing that we killed that demon and it can't kill anyone else." Phoebe reached up and gently brushed some tears away from Prue's cheek.

"Then why do I feel like I failed mom? I just stood there and watched as Sam died to save us." Prue sniffed.

"You weren't the only one that just watched as Sam died. But remember he chose to do that. He was a whitelighter and was acting on his instinct to save and protect. He made it up to mom by saving us, which is what mom would have wanted. Now mom and Sam are together on the other side and can be happy."

Prue couldn't help but smile and chuckle softly. "You sound like the oldest sister right now."

"I'm just saying what Piper helped me see yesterday. I felt the same way you do, that even though we avenged mom's death that it didn't matter, but Piper told me that we probably needed time to let our emotions settle before we could feel better. None of us had really come to terms with mom's death, so we have to do that first and go through these emotions before we can feel better and let go of it."

"And now you sound exactly like Piper." Prue said as she sniffed and brushed some more tears away. "But you're right. It was that whole storm of emotions that clouded my mind and kept me from stopping myself last night." She looked at Phoebe regretfully. "No matter what, I can never forgive myself for what I've done to you. I don't expect you to ever forgive me either, and I don't know if you believe me anymore, but I will do everything I possibly can to make it up to you. Though I also know there is no making it up to you, but I want to make you so happy, Phoebe. You're my love and I want to spend the rest of my life loving you." As Prue spoke, Phoebe's eyes glazed over with tears.

"I do believe you, but I can't forgive what you did to me, not now. I will give you another chance because I love you. I can't imagine being without you anymore. I want to be beside you always and fall asleep and wake up in your arms every day." Phoebe said. Prue smiled softly.

"Thank you, I won't let you down again." Prue hugged Phoebe close and tight against her, then kissed her softly on the lips. Phoebe hugged and kissed her back. After some moments, Prue broke the kiss and looked at Phoebe. "And now it's your turn because I suspect you've got some things on your mind."

Phoebe nodded. "Well, I really only had one major thing consuming me." She shifted a little bit and looked at Prue, a troubled look in her eyes. "To be honest, I really resented you wanting me to see mom's death, and before you say anything, I know it was the only way to see how to defeat the demon, but I just can't live with it." Phoebe sniffed, mostly from her cold, but tears welled up in her eyes quickly as she once again saw her mother's death. "I keep seeing it over and over. No matter how much I will it to stop, it won't. And what's worse is that I can feel what mom felt. Every time she dies, I feel myself suffocating and drowning. I can't live with this, Prue. I just can't. I don't want this in my memory, I don't!" As Phoebe spoke, her voice grew more shrill and insistent and she started crying. Prue held her close against her.

"I know it's horrible having to see it, but I know you're strong enough to keep it from consuming you. I wouldn't have asked you to do that if I didn't know you are strong enough to overcome it. I know it's asking a lot, and I know I have the same issue with my memory of seeing them putting mom in a body bag."

"No you don't understand, Prue…" Phoebe wailed. "I feel it! I see it and I don't want to see it! It's driving me insane. No matter how long I live, I can never overcome this. This is our mother, Prue. I never got to know her except for the brief time we traveled back to the past, and now suddenly I have the scene of her death burned into my memory." Phoebe looked at Prue with a tear-streaked face. "If you had my power and you could see what I see, would you ever be able to overcome it?"

Prue looked at Phoebe and had no answer. Even twenty years later, she hadn't overcome losing Patty at such a young age. She took a breath and stroked Phoebe's hair. "I don't have an answer to that. As I am, I haven't overcome mom's death, so I'd guess that I couldn't overcome seeing her death either."

"I want to make it go away. I want the memory erased from my mind!" Phoebe sobbed. Prue bit her lower lip and gently caressed Phoebe's cheek.

"I wish I could take it away from you, or at least make it easier for you to bear it." She pulled Phoebe close against her again, trying to give her as much comfort as she possibly could.

Just then, a light appeared at the foot of the bed. Prue and Phoebe pinched their eyes shut from the blinding light. When they opened them a moment later, both of them went wide eyed and sat up in bed.

"Mom?" Phoebe asked through a sob and a sniffle. Patty smiled softly.

"Prue, Phoebe, my girls," Patty said. She then looked at Phoebe. "I've been sent here to relieve your suffering. I know you're having a difficult time seeing my death, and I'm here to help."

"You can take it away? I didn't think spirits could do that sort of thing." Phoebe asked, then sneezed twice.

"No, I'm not taking it away, but I will make it easier for you to handle." Patty walked over to the side of the bed, reached out and gently rested her hand against Phoebe's chest. A moment later, a gold light passed from Patty's hand into Phoebe's chest, and back. Once the light faded after a few moments, Patty stepped back and smiled. "It should be easier for you now. Listen to Prue, she was right when she said you are strong enough to overcome it."

"What did you do?" Phoebe asked.

"I dampened the physical effect the vision has on you so you won't feel it, only see it. I know you have too many other emotions going through you right now to deal with that. When you are ready to face it, the ability to feel what I felt will return."

"But how can I ever be ready for something like that?"

"Your heart will know, trust in that. And remember Prue is by your side to help you." Patty looked at Prue and smiled. "Don't blame yourself for what Sam did. It was in his nature to sacrifice himself as he did. He and I are together again, so be at peace."

"Thanks, mom," Prue said with a soft, warm smile.

"And if you hurt Phoebe again, Grams is threatening to come here herself." Patty warned.

"I won't hurt her again, I promise." Prue replied and truly feared Grams coming down to exact punishment on her.

"Be good. I'll be watching." Patty smiled and then disappeared.

When Patty was gone, Phoebe sneezed several times in a row, then groaned. "God I feel so horrible," she sniffed loudly.

"Come on, it's time for some rest." Prue wrapped her arms around Phoebe and leaned back against the pillows again. Phoebe rested her head on Prue's chest and wrapped her arms around her.

"Thank you. I feel like someone's sitting on my chest." She sniffed and coughed, then settled down and closed her eyes. She felt her temperature getting even higher and she wondered exactly what her temperature was.

Prue frowned slightly as she felt something hot against her chest. She slid a hand up and felt Phoebe's forehead. "Oh my God Phoebe, you're burning up. I think we need to take you to the hospital."

"Ok…" Phoebe said weakly. She tried to get up, but she fainted before she could even move. Her arms fell loose around Prue.

"Phoebe? Phoebe?!" Prue asked and shook Phoebe gently. "Phoebe wake up!" She started to freak out. "Piper!!" Prue screamed as she scrambled out of bed and picked Phoebe up in her arms. She was out the door and in the hallway by the time Piper came running up the stairs.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Piper asked, then her eyes went wide as she saw Phoebe.

"Phoebe fainted and she's burning up like I've never felt before. We need to get her to a hospital right now." Prue explained quickly, doing her best to keep a hold of herself. Piper nodded and ran back downstairs, quickly followed by Prue.

Piper grabbed her car keys, then ran out to the car and got in. Prue got in the backseat with Phoebe and held her close. She hoped and prayed Phoebe would be ok and gently stroked her hair all the way to the hospital. When they got there, Phoebe was taken away on a bed by a team of nurses.

Prue and Piper stayed in the waiting room, both anxious to hear what was wrong with Phoebe. Prue paced incessantly, never sitting down the whole time. After nearly two hours of watching Prue pace, Piper finally cracked.

"Prue would you please stop pacing and sit down?! You're making me even more anxious!" Piper snapped.

"Sorry, sorry I just can't stop pacing and worrying." Prue finally sat down next to Piper. "If anything has happened to her, I'll never forgive myself. This is all my fault."

"It's not your fault, Prue. She'll be fine, she's just sick. She'll be ok." Piper reached over and gently rubbed Prue's shoulder. Prue looked at her with a deeply regretful look in her eyes.

"It's just like the time when she got hurt because I was a careless driver. I haven't forgiven myself for that. I put her in the hospital for a week."

"Prue, stop blaming yourself. Blaming yourself won't get you anywhere." Piper said. Before more could be said, a doctor came up to them.

"Are you Phoebe's sisters?" He asked.

"Yes we are." Prue said as she and Piper stood up, extremely worried and anxious looks on their faces. They held each other's hands tightly as they braced themselves for what the doctor was about to say. "Is Phoebe going to be ok?"

"Yes she is. We finally got her fever to go down enough so that she's out of the danger zone. However, she has a really serious cold that is trying to turn into pneumonia so I want to keep her in the hospital for a while to keep an eye on her condition."

"So when can we take her home?" Piper asked.

"If her temperature doesn't spike again and she doesn't get worse, you can take her home tomorrow morning. She's been moved to a room and you can go see her now." The doctor gave them the room number Phoebe was in and they both rushed off. When they got there, Phoebe was awake.

"Oh thank God you're here. Please take me home…" Phoebe begged. Ever since the accident that had left her in the hospital for a week, Phoebe had developed an innate hatred of hospitals and wanted to avoid them whenever possible.

"Oh honey, I'm sorry. We can't take you home yet. The doctor wants to keep an eye on you." Piper said.

"How are you feeling?" Prue asked as she sat down on the edge of the bed.

"Violated and wanting to go home." Phoebe replied flatly. She had an IV in her arm since she was a little dehydrated from being outside all night. Prue reached out and gently brushed some hair behind Phoebe's ear.

"Soon, I promise." Prue replied.

The doctor kept Phoebe in the hospital for the rest of the day without incident. Her condition didn't get better, but it didn't get worse either. When visiting hours ended, Prue and Piper had to leave. Since Phoebe wasn't in critical condition they couldn't stay. They went home and got some rest. Then first thing in the morning, Prue went to bring Phoebe home from the hospital while Piper went to the club. On her way to the hospital, Prue stopped and picked up some flowers for Phoebe. When she walked into Phoebe's room, she stopped in her tracks as she saw someone in there all ready.

"Excuse me, do you work here?" Prue asked. Nathaniel turned around and smiled.

"No, I was just visiting my sister and saw Phoebe was here. I thought I'd say hello to her since she's all alone."

"Well she's not alone any more so you can go now."

"I see that." He looked at Phoebe and smiled. "Get well soon, Phoebe." He gently patted her hand, then left. Prue gave him a look as he left the room, getting extremely bad vibes from him. She walked over to Phoebe and looked at her.

"Why was he here?"

"He was asking me about yesterday. I think he saw you use your powers to pull me away from the path of that car." Phoebe, all ready pale from being sick, was even paler now. "We have to do something about him. I don't want to end up burning at the stake." True fear showed through her eyes.

"We'll do something, I promise. But let's not think about that now. I hoped these would cheer you up." Prue said and handed over the flowers with a smile. Phoebe took them and couldn't help but smile.

"Aww Prue, thank you, they're beautiful!" Phoebe smiled up at Prue.

"You're welcome, Phoebs." Prue leaned in and kissed Phoebe gently, then pulled back. Not long after, the doctor came in with a nurse and examined Phoebe. After seeing she wasn't getting worse, the doctor let Phoebe go home.

Once back at home, Prue put Phoebe's flowers in a vase with water. Phoebe settled herself on the couch with a blanket and a box of Kleenex.

"Now, you aren't to even move. Let me know if you need anything, even going to the bathroom. I'll come help you." Prue said. "Is there anything you need or want now?"

Phoebe pouted. "I want you to join me. I want to cuddle with you." She said in a baby voice. Prue smiled, walked over and lay on the couch with Phoebe, wrapped her arms around her and held her close. Phoebe grinned, wrapped her arms around Prue and snuggled against her. She rested her head on Prue's shoulder and closed her eyes. "Did you get any sleep last night?"

"Nope, I couldn't sleep. How about you?"

"Same. I missed snuggling up to you like this at night. And having been in a hospital I wasn't going to sleep when they can do bad things to me when I sleep." Prue chuckled and pulled Phoebe closer.

"Sleep now, I'm here to keep you safe."

"Mmm good." Phoebe snuggled a little closer. Prue rested her cheek against the top of Phoebe's head. It wasn't long before both of them fell asleep.

In their dreams, they forgot all their worries and troubles. They also forgot about the lurking potential threat Nathaniel Pratt posed to them. Right now, their only care was the carefree world of their dreams.


End file.
